Since 2017, the average ransomware demand has grown thirty-fold, according to NetDiligence's Ransomware 2022 Spotlight report. The average demand in 2021 averaged $751,000. The year prior the average was $357,000, NetDiligence reported. Ransomware was the leading cause of loss for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the third year in a row, according to Mark Greisiger, president of NetDiligence. SMEs were defined as organizations with $2 billion or less in annual revenue. Business email compromise was another major driver of cyber losses. Combined, ransomware and business email compromise events accounted for 44% of all cyber claims from 2017-2021, and nearly 50% in 2020 and 2021, according to NetDiligence's report. "Furthermore, the overall business interruption cost of a ransomware incident has significantly grown over that time period," Greisiger said in a release. "The average costs for a ransomware incident in 2021 were almost double the five-year average costs." Concerning business interruption following a cyber incident, SMEs saw an average cost of $340,000. For companies with $2 billion or more in annual revenue, business interruption costs following a ransomware incident averaged $16.5 million. According to NetDiligence, the industries in the above slideshow saw the highest average ransomware demands. The ranking is based on claims data from 2017-2020 and details from more than 800 ransomware events that took place in 2020 and 2021. Related:

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